WO2016055689A1

WO2016055689A1 - Ambience control arrangement

Info

Publication number: WO2016055689A1
Application number: PCT/FI2014/050771
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jari Tuominen
Original assignee: Onninen Oy
Priority date: 2014-10-10
Filing date: 2014-10-10
Publication date: 2016-04-14

Abstract

A technique for controlling an emission of a scent composition in a physical space is provided. According to an example embodiment, the technique comprises receiving at least one of a first control signal and a second control signal, wherein said first control signal is indicative of an audio signal selected for reproduction in said physical space and said second control signal is indicative of visible light selected for illumination of said physical space, and controlling a scent diffuser device arranged in said physical space to selectively emit a scent composition in dependence of at least one of said first and second control signals.

Description

Ambience control arrangement

TECHNICAL FIELD

The example and non-limiting embodiments of the present invention relate to a scent emission arrangement and, in particular, control of a scent diffuser de- vice as part of a scent emission arrangement.

BACKGROUND

A scent or fragrance may be applied as an environmental stimulus that has an effect to a person subjected to the scent of fragrance. Suitable selection of a scent may be applied to invoke a desired effect in the person subjected to it. As an example, a suitable scent may be applied to create an energizing or calming effect. It is known that an audible stimulus and/or a visual stimulus may be applied to provide a corresponding effect in the person subjected thereto, while this effect may be intensified by providing simultaneously a scent that further contributes to the same or similar effect. However, there are no known solutions for controlling emission of a scent for such purposes in a convenient and flexible manner.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present invention to provide a scent emission arrangement that enables controlling a scent diffuser device such that a scent composition emitted therefrom serves to invoke a desired combined effect in an occupant of a physical space together with an audible component and/or a visual component provided the same physical space. It is another object of the present invention to provide a scent emission arrangement that may be applied as part of an ambience control arrangement in a flexibly and user-friendly manner. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a scent emission arrangement that enables flexible installation and operation as part of an ambience control arrangement in the physical space of interest.

According to a first example embodiment, a scent control arrangement for controlling an emission of scent composition in a physical space is provided, the arrangement comprising a control portion arranged to receive at least one of a first control signal and a second control signal, wherein said first control signal is indicative of an audio signal selected for reproduction in said physical space and said second control signal is indicative of visible light selected for illumina- tion of said physical space, and to control a scent diffuser device arranged in said physical space to selectively emit a scent composition in dependence of at least one of said first control signal and said second control signal

According to a second example embodiment, a method for controlling an emission of a scent composition in a physical space is provided, the method comprising receiving at least one of a first control signal and a second control signal, wherein said first control signal is indicative of an audio signal selected for reproduction in said physical space and said second control signal is indicative of visible light selected for illumination of said physical space, and controlling a scent diffuser device arranged in said physical space to selectively emit a scent composition in dependence of at least one of said first control signal and said second control signal.

According to a third example embodiment, a computer program comprising computer readable program code configured to cause performing of the method according to the second example embodiment when said program code is run on a computing apparatus.

The computer program according to the third example embodiment may be embodied on a volatile or a non-volatile computer-readable record medium, for example as a computer program product comprising at least one computer readable non-transitory medium having program code stored thereon, the pro- gram which when executed by an apparatus cause the apparatus at least to perform the operations described hereinbefore for the computer program according to the third example embodiment.

The exemplifying embodiments of the invention presented in this patent application are not to be interpreted to pose limitations to the applicability of the ap- pended claims. The verb "to comprise" and its derivatives are used in this pa- tent application as an open limitation that does not exclude the existence of also unrecited features. The features described hereinafter are mutually freely combinable unless explicitly stated otherwise.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following detailed description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 schematically illustrates some components of an exemplifying scent emission arrangement in accordance with an example embodiment. Figure 2 schematically illustrates some components of an exemplifying scent emission arrangement in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 3 schematically illustrates some components of an exemplifying scent emission arrangement in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates some components of an exemplifying ambi- ence control arrangement in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 5 schematically illustrates some components of an exemplifying scent diffuser.

Figure 6 schematically illustrates some components of an exemplifying scent diffuser. Figure 7 illustrates a method in accordance with an example embodiment. Figure 8 schematically illustrates some components of an exemplifying apparatus in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 schematically illustrates some components of an exemplifying scent emission arrangement 1 00 that may be relevant for description of the present invention. The scent emission arrangement 1 00 comprises a control portion 1 1 0 for controlling a scent diffuser device 1 20 to emit a desired scent composition in dependence of one or more control signals received at the control portion 1 1 0. The control portion 1 1 0 is communicatively coupled to the scent dif- fuser device 1 20, e.g. via a connection 1 25 to enable issuing one or more scent control signals Sy to the scent diffuser device 1 20.

In the scent emission arrangement 1 00 the control portion 1 1 0 is communicatively coupled to an audio signal analysis portion 1 30 via a connection 1 35 and to a light analysis portion 140 via a connection 145. The connection 1 35 may be applied to provide a first control signal Si from the audio analysis portion 1 30 to the control portion 1 1 0. The first control signal Si is indicative of an audio signal selected for reproduction in a physical space in which the scent emission arrangement 1 00 is to be operated. The connection 145 may be applied to provide a second control signal S₂ from the light analysis portion 140 to the control portion 1 1 0. The second control signal S₂ is indicative of visible light selected for illumination of the physical space in which the scent emission arrangement 100 is to be operated. In the framework of the scent emission arrangement 100, each of the connections 125, 1 35, 145 may be a wireless connection or a wired connection. The scent control signal Sy may be derived in dependence of the first control signal Si and/or the second control signal S₂, and the scent control signal Sy may carry values of one or more scent control parameters that control the operation of the scent diffuser device 1 20.

A variation of the scent emission arrangement 1 00 may comprise only one of the audio analysis portion 1 30 and the light analysis portion 140 and, conse- quently, the control portion 1 1 0 may be arranged to receive only one of the first control signal Si and the second control signal S₂ via respective one of the connections 1 35, 145.

In the scent emission arrangement 1 00 each of the control portion 1 1 0, the audio analysis portion 1 30, the light analysis portion 140 and the scent diffuser device 1 20 is provided in a separate device, as indicated by the four dashed rectangles, each enclosing respective one of the entities 1 1 0, 1 20, 1 30 and 140.

Figure 2 schematically illustrates some components of a second exemplifying scent emission arrangement 200 that is a variation of the scent emission ar- rangement 1 00. The difference in the scent emission arrangements 1 00 and 200 is that in the scent emission arrangement 200 both the audio analysis portion 1 30 and the light analysis portion 140 are provided in the same device with the control portion 1 1 0, as indicated by the dashed rectangle enclosing the entities 1 1 0, 1 30 and 140. In a further exemplifying variation of the scent emission arrangement 200 one of the audio analysis portion 1 30 and the light analysis portion 140 may be provided in the same device with the control portion 1 1 0 whereas the other one is provided in a separate device. In a yet further variation of the scent emission arrangement 200, along the lines described above for the scent emission arrangement 100, only one of the audio analysis portion 1 30 and the light analysis portion 140 may be included and, consequently, the control portion 1 1 0 may be arranged to receive only one of the first control signal Si and the second control signal S₂ via the respective one of the connections 1 35, 145.

Moreover, in the scent emission arrangements 1 00 and 200 the scent diffuser device 1 20 is illustrated as an entity that is provided in a device separate from the one housing the control portion 1 1 0, as illustrated by the respective dashed rectangles in Figures 1 and 2. In a variation of the control arrangements 1 00 and 200, however, the control portion 1 1 0 may be provided in the same device with the scent diffuser device 1 20. In this regard, Figure 3 schematically illus- trates some components of a third exemplifying scent emission arrangement 300 that is a variation of the scent emission arrangement 1 00, such that the control portion 1 10 and the scent diffuser device 1 20 are provided in the same device, as indicated by the dashed rectangle of Figure 3 enclosing the control portion 1 1 0 and the scent diffuser device 1 20.

While the scent emission arrangements 1 00, 200 and 300 are depicted with a single scent diffuser device 1 20, each of the scent emission arrangements 1 00, 200 and 300 may comprise a plurality of scent diffuser devices 1 20, each connected to the control unit 1 10 via respective connection 1 25 for reception of the scent control signal Sy from the control unit 1 1 0. If multiple (e.g. two or more) scent diffuser devices 1 20 are employed, each of the multiple scent dif- fuser devices 1 20 is preferably provided as an entity that is separate from the other scent diffuser devices 1 20. The multiple scent diffuser devices 1 20 may be identical or substantially identical in operation such that the scent control signal Sy issued from the control portion 1 1 0 (and provided to the multiple scent diffuser devices 1 20 via the respective one of the connections 1 25) cause each of the multiple scent diffuser devices 1 20 to emit similar or substantially similar scent composition. Employing a scent emission arrangement that makes use of multiple scent diffuser devices 1 20 may be advantageous especially in relatively large spaces to enable distribution of the scent diffuser devices 1 20 at multiple locations within the space in order to ensure emission of the desired scent composition throughout the space.

Different variants of the scent emission arrangements 1 00, 200 and 300 may be provided to serve different usage scenarios in physical spaces of various shapes and sizes. As an example, for a relatively small space it may be advantageous to provide a scent emission arrangement that includes a small or a minimum number of separate devices to enable providing the arrangement as a device or devices of small size in order to facilitate easily accommodating the scent emission arrangement in the space. As another example, for relatively large space it may be advantageous to provide a scent emission arrangement that includes a high or a maximum number of separate devices to facilitate flexible installation of the scent emission arrangement in the space. Each of the connections 125, 135 and 145 may be provided as a wired connection or as a wireless connection. If provided between components within the same device, the connection 125, 135, 145, is typically provided as a wired connection, although a wireless connection within the device may also be em- ployed. If provided between components of separate devices, the connection 125, 135, 145 may be provided as wired connection or as a wireless connection. A wired connection may be provided e.g. as one or more electrical wires and/or as one or more optical fibers. A wireless connection may be provided e.g. as a radio connection using a suitable radio protocol such as a Bluetooth (BT) or Bluetooth Low Energy (BT LE) or as a wireless local area network (WLAN) e.g. according to a IEEE 802.1 1 standard. As another example, a wireless connection may be provided by using visible light communication (VLC) such as Li-Fi or by using infrared communication e.g. according an infrared data association (IrDA) standard. The scent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300 may be provided as part of an ambience control arrangement that enables controlling one or more components affecting the ambience of a physical space of interest such that they jointly serve to invoke a desired combined effect in an occupant of the physical space. Figure 4 schematically illustrates some components of an exemplifying ambience control arrangement 400 comprising the scent emission arrangement 100. Alternatively, one of the scent emission arrangements 200 and 300 or another scent emission arrangement may be employed instead of the scent emission arrangement 100. The ambience control arrangement 400 further comprises an audio reproduction system 402 for provision of the audio signal in the space and a lighting arrangement 404 for illuminating the space.

The audio reproduction system 402 may comprise audio equipment for providing the audio signal that may be reproduced via a loudspeaker system including one or more loudspeakers arranged in the space where the ambience control arrangement 400 is (to be) operated. The audio reproduction system 402 typically includes a user interface that enables choosing and playing back a desired audio signal either by selection from a plurality of audio signals that are pre-stored in the audio reproduction system 402 or by reading from a record medium that stores the audio signal(s) of interest and that is readable by the audio reproduction system. The available or applied audio signal(s) typically, but not necessarily, include a piece of music exhibiting one or more audible characteristics that serve to invoke a respective desired effect in an occupant of the physical space where the ambience control arrangement 100 is (to be) operated.

The lighting arrangement 404 may comprise one or more lighting fixtures (each including one or more light sources) that enable providing illumination of de- sired characteristics in the space where the ambience control arrangement 100 is (to be) operated. The lighting arrangement 404 typically includes a user interface that enables choosing a light of a predetermined fixed color (e.g. at a predetermined wavelength or at two or more predetermined wavelengths) or choosing a light at one of a plurality of predetermined colors and/or at desired luminous intensity. The available or applied colors of light and/or luminous intensities enable provision of lighting that exhibits visual characteristics that serve to invoke a respective desired effect in an occupant of the physical space where the ambience control arrangement 100 is (to be) operated.

When the ambience control arrangement 400 is operated, the user or operator may operate the audio reproduction system 402 to play back a desired audio signal and/or operate the lighting arrangement 404 to provide illumination of desired color and/or luminous intensity. If both the audio signal and the illumination are provided, the audio signal and color of the light are preferably chosen such that they jointly serve to invoke a desired combined effect in an oc- cupant of the space where the ambience control arrangement is (to be) operated. The scent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300, in turn, may be configured to associate certain characteristic(s) of the audio signal and/or certain characteristic(s) of the lighting into a scent composition that further serves to strengthen the desired combined effect in an occupant of the space caused by the audio signal and/or the lighting. In such an ambience control arrangement, the ascent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300 may be provided separately from other components of the ambience control arrangement (e.g. the audio reproduction system 402 and the lighting arrangement 404 depicted in Figure 4). Providing the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 as an independent entity that is separate from the rest of the ambience control arrangement but that is able to complement the effect caused by the other components of the ambience control arrangement conveniently enables complementing an audio and/or lighting based ambience control arrangement without a need to modify the existing components of the arrangement. As another example, e.g. the audio reproduction system 402 and/or the lighting arrangement 404 may be provided together with the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 as an integrated system consisting of a single entity or of two or more separate entities. Such an arrangement enables tailoring of the other components of the ambience control arrangement in view of the capabilities and characteristics of the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300.

Turning back to structure and operation of the scent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300, according to an example embodiment, the first control signal Si may be indicative of a value of at least one predefined characteristic of the au- dio signal that is being reproduced via one or more loudspeakers in the space where the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 is being operated. In this regard, the audio analysis portion 1 30 may be arranged to capture the audio signal e.g. by using a microphone arrangement, e.g. a microphone or a microphone array. The audio analysis portion 1 30 may be further arranged to ana- lyze the captured audio signal in order to extract the value of the predefined audio characteristic from the captured audio signal. The audio analysis portion 1 30 may be further arranged to cause the first control signal Si to indicate the extracted value of at least one predefined audio characteristics of the captured audio signal. In this regard, the first control signal Si may be caused to carry, for each of the predefined audio characteristics, a parameter value or an indicator of other type that identifies the extracted value of the respective predefined audio characteristic. Consequently, the control portion 1 1 0 may store a first mapping table or a data structure of another suitable type that may be used to associate the value of a single predefined audio characteristic or the combination of values of two or more predefined audio characteristics indicated in the first control signal Si with a corresponding scent composition. Consequently, the control portion 1 1 0 may be arranged to, in response to receiving the indication(s) of the value(s) of the predefined audio characteristic(s) in the first control signal S^ , access the first mapping table to determine the scent composition associated with the indicated value(s) of the predefined audio characteristic(s), set value(s) of the scent control parameter(s) for the scent control signal S_v such that the determined scent composition will be emitted by the scent diffuser device 120 and issue the scent control signal S to cause the scent diffuser device 1 20 to emit the respective scent composition.

In an example embodiment, a single predefined audio characteristic is em- ployed and the single predefined audio characteristic (to be) extracted from the captured audio signal may comprise the (musical) key of the audio signal and, consequently, the parameter value carried in the first control signal Si may identify the extracted (musical) key. In this regard, any (musical) key recognition technique known in the art may be employed. The extracted (musical) key, in turn, is applied by the control portion 1 1 0 to derive the value(s) of the scent control parameter(s) carried in the scent control signal S_v accordingly. Hence, the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 may be configured to selectively emit a scent composition at least in dependence of the detected (musical) key of the audio signal played back in the in the space where the scent emis- sion arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 is being operated. Consequently, the first mapping table in the control portion 1 1 0 may be applied to associate each of one or more predefined (musical) keys with a corresponding scent composition. An illustrative example of such mapping table is provided in Table 1 . Table 1

In another example embodiment, the single predefined audio characteristic (to be) extracted from the captured audio signal may comprise the frequency content across a predefined frequency range and, consequently, one or more pa- rameter values carried in the first control signal Si may convey an indication of the extracted frequency content. In this regard, any audio analysis technique known in the art may be employed, e.g. one based on Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) or Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), a filter-bank based approach etc. Hence, the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 may be configured to selectively emit a scent composition at least in dependence of the detected frequency content of the audio signal played back in the in the space where the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 is being operated.

In this approach, the control portion 1 1 0 may be arranged to determine presence or absence of one of one or more predefined frequency fingerprints in the audio signal on basis of the information received in the first control signal S-i . Alternatively, the determination regarding the presence or absence of one of one or more predefined frequency fingerprints may be carried out in the audio analysis portion 1 30 and hence the audio characteristic indicated in the first control signal Si may comprise an identification of the detected one of the pre- defined frequency fingerprints or an indication of absence of any of the predefined frequency fingerprints. Herein, the term frequency fingerprint refers to a single predetermined frequency component or a combination of two or more predetermined frequency components, wherein each predefined frequency component may be either a frequency component in a range of audible frequencies (e.g. in a range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz) or a frequency component in a range of inaudible frequencies (e.g. an infrasonic frequency component below 20 Hz and/or an ultrasonic frequency component above 20 kHz). A detected frequency component is typically considered to correspond to a predefined frequency component if the detected frequency component matches the predefined frequency component with an error tolerance of a few percent. As an example in this regard, the control portion 1 1 0 or the audio analysis portion 1 30 may be arranged to consider an indicated frequency component to match a certain predefined frequency component if the deviation between the two is less than one percent. Detected frequency component that is within the range of a few percent from a certain predefined frequency component may be considered to be substantially similar to the certain frequency component. As another example, the error tolerance in matching the detected frequency component with a predefined frequency component may be provided by defining a predefined frequency component as a frequency that falls within a predefined sub-range of frequencies. Consequently, the first mapping table in the control portion 1 1 0 (or in the above-described alternative approach in the audio analysis portion 1 30) may be applied to associate each of one or more predefined frequency fingerprints with a corresponding scent composition. The control portion 1 1 0 may be arranged, in response to an indication of presence of one of the predefined spec- tral fingerprints, to access the first mapping table to determine the scent composition associated with the indicated spectral fingerprint, to set the value(s) of the scent control parameter(s) for the scent control signal Sy such that the determined scent composition will be emitted by the scent diffuser device 1 20 and to issue the scent control signal Sy to cause the scent diffuser device 1 20 to emit the respective scent composition. An illustrative example of such mapping table is provided in Table 2. Table 2

In further example embodiments, the considered audio characteristic may be e.g. the tempo of the music represented by the audio signal, a pitch class (i.e. chroma) of the music represented by the audio signal, a key signature of the music represented by the audio signal, etc. In a further example embodiment, multiple (i.e. two or more) audio characteristics may be employed, such that values of each of the extracted audio characteristics need to map to the same scent composition in order to cause the control portion 1 1 0 to issue the scent control signal S_v for causing the scent diffuser device 1 20 to emit the respec- tive scent composition. The mappings between values of each of the considered audio characteristics and the corresponding scent compositions may be provided e.g. in respective sub-tables of the first mapping table.

According to an example embodiment, the second control signal S₂ may be indicative of a value of at least one predefined characteristic of the visible light applied to illuminate the space where the scent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300 is (to be) operated. In this regard, the light analysis portion 140 may be arranged to analyze ambient light in the space in order to extract a value of the predefined light characteristic on basis of the visible light. The light analysis portion 140 may be further arranged to cause the second control signal S₂ to indicate the extracted value of at least one predefined light characteristics. In this regard, the second control signal S₂ may be caused to carry, for each of the predefined light characteristics, a parameter value or an indicator of other type that identifies the extracted value of the respective predefined light characteristic.

Consequently, the control portion 1 1 0 may store a second mapping table or a data structure of another suitable type that may be used to associate the value of a single predefined light characteristic or the combination of values of two or more predefined light characteristics indicated in the second control signal S₂ with a corresponding scent composition. Consequently, the control portion 1 1 0 may be arranged to, in response to receiving the indication(s) of the value(s) of the predefined light characteristic(s) in the second control signal S₂, access the second mapping table to determine the scent composition associated with the indicated value(s) of the predefined light characteristic(s), set the value(s) of the scent control parameter(s) for the scent control signal S such that the determined scent composition will be emitted by the scent diffuser device 1 20and issue the scent control signal S_v to cause the scent diffuser device 1 20 to emit the respective scent composition.

In an example embodiment, a single predefined light characteristic is employed and the single predefined light characteristic (to be) extracted from the ambient light may comprise the wavelength(s) observed in the visible light and, consequently, the parameter value(s) carried in the second control signal S₂ may identify the extracted information regarding the observed wavelength(s). In this regard, any suitable light spectrum analysis technique known in the art may be employed. Hence, the scent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300 may be configured to selectively emit a scent composition at least in dependence of the detected wavelength(s) of ambient light (in other words, in dependence of the detected color of the ambient light) in the space where the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 is being operated. Consequently, the second mapping table in the control portion 1 1 0 may be applied to associate each of one or more predefined wavelengths with a corresponding scent composition. An illustrative example of such mapping table is provided in Table 3. Table 3

Although Table 3 provides an example of the mapping table with exact wavelengths, typically an error tolerance of a few percent can be allowed, e.g. the control portion 1 1 0 may be arranged to consider a wavelength indicated in the second control signal S₂ to match wavelength value defined in the second mapping if the deviation between the two is less than one percent. Indicated wavelength that is within the tolerance of a few percent from the one defined in the second mapping table may be considered to be substantially similar to the wavelength defined in the second mapping table. As another example, the er- ror tolerance in matching the detected wavelength with a wavelength of the second mapping table may be provided by defining the respective wavelength of the second mapping table as a wavelength that falls within a predefined sub-range of wavelengths.

In another example embodiment, the single predefined light characteristic (to be) extracted from the ambient light may comprise the luminous intensity of ambient light and one or more parameter values carried in the second control signal S₂ may convey an indication of the observed luminous intensity. Hence, the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 may be configured to selectively emit a scent composition at least in dependence of the observed luminous intensity in the space where the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 is (to be) operated. Consequently, the second mapping table in the control por- tion 1 1 0 may be applied to associate each of a number of predefined subranges of luminous intensity levels with a corresponding scent composition.

In further example embodiments, other suitable light characteristic may considered. In a further example embodiment, multiple light characteristics may be employed, such that both extracted light characteristics need to map to the same scent composition in order to cause the control portion 1 1 0 to issue the scent control signal S for causing the scent diffuser device 1 20 to emit the respective scent composition. The mappings between values of each of the considered light characteristics and the corresponding scent compositions may be provided e.g. in respective sub-tables of the second mapping table.

In an example embodiment, instead of using the light analysis portion 140 to generate the second control signal S₂, characteristics of a control signal applied to operate the ambience control arrangement may be used as basis for generating the second control signal S₂. Such a control signal may be e.g. a control signal provided as input or applied within the lighting arrangement 404 in context of the ambience control arrangement 400. As an example in this regard, such control signal may be derived on basis of a voltage applied to drive a lighting means comprising a light emitting diode (LED), where the voltage used for driving the LED is typically indicative of the color of the light emitted from the respective LED.

The first and/or second mapping tables may comprise information that is pre- stored in the respective table as part of manufacturing process or installation process of the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300. As another example, additionally or alternatively, a user interface of the scent emission ar- rangement 100, 200, 300 may enable configuring and/or re-configuring the content of the first and/or second mapping tables and hence configure/reconfigure the mappings between a respective audio and/or light characteristic and the corresponding scent composition.

Along the lines described in the foregoing, one or more of the first control sig- nal Si and the second control signal S₂ may be applied to compose the scent controls signal Sy for controlling operation of the scent diffuser device 1 20. As an example in this regard, the control portion 1 1 0 may be arranged to derive values of one or more scent control parameters in dependence of the first control signal Si and/or the second control signal S₂ and to issue, to the scent dif- fuser device 1 20, the scent control signal Sy that carries the derived value(s) of the scent control parameter(s) in order to control the operation of the scent diffuser device 1 20 in a desired manner.

According to an example embodiment, only one of the first control signal Si and the second control signal S₂ is applied for controlling invocation of the scent control signal Sy in accordance with the description provided in the foregoing. In such a scenario, in case a valid mapping for the value received in the first control signal Si or in the second control signal S₂ is found in the respective one of the first and second mapping tables, the mapping specified in the respective mapping table may be applied to set the value(s) of the scent con- trol parameter(s) for the scent control signal Sy accordingly without additional considerations and the control portion 1 1 0 may issue the scent control signal Sv to cause emission of the respective scent composition from the scent diffuser device 1 20. In contrast, if the first control signal Si or the second control signal S₂ carries a value for which no mapping to an associated scent compo- sition is provided in the respective one of the first and second mapping tables, the control portion 1 10 may refrain from issuing the scent control signal Sy - and consequently no emission of scent composition takes place.

According to another example embodiment, both the first control signal Si and the second control signal S₂ are applied for controlling invocation of the scent control signal Sy and in this regard the validity of the mapping(s) in both the first and second tables may be evaluated. In a first example scenario, finding a valid mapping in one of the first and second mapping tables may be applied as a sufficient condition for derivation of the value(s) of the scent control parameters) and invocation of the scent control signal Sy accordingly. In a second example scenario the requirement for deriving the scent control parameter(s) and issuing the scent control signal Sy from the control portion 1 1 0 is that a valid mapping in respective one of the first and second tables is found for values received in both control signals Si and S₂ and, further, that the values received in both control signals Si and S₂ are associated with the same scent composition. In contrast, if the values received in the control signals Si and S₂ map to different scent compositions, the control portion 1 1 0 may refrain from issuing the scent control signal S_v.

In case the control portion 1 1 0 proceeds with issuing the scent control signal Sv, the control portion 1 1 0 may be arranged to configure this signal such that it is arranged to cause the scent diffuser device 1 20 to emit the scent composi- tion in accordance with the value(s) received in the first control signal Si and/or the second control signal S₂, as described in the foregoing - in other words to control the scent diffuser device 1 20 to selectively emit a scent composition in dependence of the first control signal Si and/or the second control signal S₂.

In principle, any scent diffuser apparatus known in the art that can be config- ured to operate in accordance with control information (e.g. in accordance with the values of the one or more scent control parameters) received in the scent control signal S_v may be employed as the scent diffuser device 1 20. In the following, two examples of the scent diffuser device 1 20 are described to provide illustrative examples of the scent diffuser device 1 20 operation in response to the scent control signal S .

Figure 5 schematically illustrates some components of an exemplifying scent diffuser device 220 that may be employed as the scent diffuser device 1 20. In this example, the scent diffuser device 220 comprises a number of reservoirs 221 , each holding a predefined scent component or scent composition, and a tubing arrangement 223 that connects each of the reservoirs 221 to a vaporizer element 225. Additionally, a dedicated airflow element 227 is provided for each of the reservoirs 221 . The scent diffuser 220 further comprises control means 229 for controlling the air flow elements 227, for controlling control valves of the reservoir elements 221 and for controlling the vaporizer element 225. In this regard, the value(s) of the scent control parameter(s) received in the scent control signal S_v may identify one or more reservoirs 221 to be applied for emission of the desired scent composition and the control means 229 may be arranged operate the scent diffuser 220 accordingly. In particular, the con- trol means 229 may be arranged to cause activation of the air flow elements 227 corresponding to the reservoirs 221 indicated by the received scent control parameter(s) and to open the control valves of these one or more reservoirs 221 to cause flow of the corresponding scent components or scent compositions via the tubing arrangement 223 towards the vaporizer element 225. The control means 229 may be further arranged to operate the vaporizer element 225 to cause emission of the desired scent components or scent composition^) received therein via the tubing arrangement 223.

Figure 6 schematically illustrates some components of a second exemplifying scent diffuser device 320 that may be employed as the scent diffuser device 1 20. In this example, the scent diffuser device 320 comprises a number of reservoirs 321 , each holding a predefined scent component or scent composition and each provided with a dedicated vaporizer element 325. Additionally, a dedicated airflow element 327 is provided for each of the reservoirs 321 . The scent diffuser 320 further comprises control means 329 for controlling the air flow elements 327, for controlling control valves of the reservoirs 321 and for controlling the vaporizer elements 325.

In this regard, the value(s) of the scent control parameter(s) received in the scent control signal S may identify one or more reservoirs 321 to be applied for emission of the desired scent composition and the control means 329 may be arranged operate the scent diffuser 320 accordingly. In particular, the control means 329 may be arranged to cause activation of the air flow elements 327 corresponding to the reservoirs 321 indicated by the received scent control parameter(s) and to open the control valves of these one or more reservoirs 321 to release the corresponding scent components towards the respec- tive vaporizer elements 325. The control means 329 may be further arranged to operate the respective vaporizer elements 325 to cause emission of the scent components or scent composition(s) received therein, thereby causing emission of a scent of desired characteristics.

According to an example embodiment, each of the reservoirs 221 , 321 holds a respective predefined scent composition, the value(s) of the scent control pa- rameter(s) received in the scent control signal Sy indicate a single reservoir 221 , 321 to be employed in the scent emission and the control means 229, 329 is arranged to cause opening of the control valve of the indicated reservoir 221 , 321 in full in response to receiving such scent control signal Sy. In a variation of this example embodiment, the value(s) of the control parameter(s) re- ceived in the scent control signal Sy further indicate a scaling factor r of scent composition to be emitted from the indicated reservoir 221 , 321 to enable controlling the strength of the emitted scent composition. As an example, the scaling factor r may be a value in a range from 0 to 1 , and the control means 229, 329 may be arranged to cause opening of the control valve by a fraction indi- cated by the scaling factor r, e.g. to cause opening of the control valve to an extent that is r * 1 00 % of the fully open state. In these example embodiments, the information provided in the first and/or second mapping tables (in the control portion 1 1 0) may directly identify the reservoir of the scent diffuser device 120, 220, 320 to be applied in the scent emission. Alternatively, one or more further mapping tables may be employed to provide mapping(s) between the scent composition(s) defined in the first and/or second mapping tables and the corresponding reservoirs of the scent diffuser device 1 20, 220, 320.

According to another example embodiment, each of the reservoirs 221 , 321 holds a respective predefined scent component and the value(s) of the scent control parameter(s) received in the scent control signal Sy indicate one or more reservoirs 221 , 321 to be employed in the scent emission. The control means 229, 329 is arranged to cause opening of the control valves of the indicated reservoirs 221 , 321 in full in response to receiving such scent control signal Sy to cause emission of a scent composition that is either a single scent component from a single reservoir 221 , 321 as such or a scent composition including scent components from a plurality of reservoirs 221 , 321 . In case two or more reservoirs 221 , 321 are indicated in the scent control signal S_v, the control means 229, 329 is arranged to cause opening the control valves of the indicated reservoirs 221 , 321 simultaneously or essentially simultaneously to ensure that the emitted scent components result in the selected scent compo- sition. In this example embodiment, the information provided in the first and/or second mapping tables (in the control portion 1 1 0) may directly identify one or more reservoirs of the scent diffuser device 1 20, 220, 320 to be applied in the scent emission. Alternatively, one or more further mapping tables may be employed to provide mapping(s) between the scent composition(s) defined in the first and/or second mapping tables and the corresponding one or more reservoirs of the scent diffuser device 1 20, 220, 320.

In a variation of the previous example embodiment, the value(s) of the control parameter(s) received in the scent control signal S_v further indicate scaling factors) Γ of scent composition to be emitted from the indicated reservoirs 221 , 321 to enable controlling the strength and/or content of the emitted scent composition. As an example, each scaling factor may be a value in a range from 0 to 1 , and the control means 229, 329 may be arranged to cause opening of the respective control valve by a fraction indicated by the scaling factor r_\, e.g. to cause opening of the respective control valve to an extent that is * 1 00 % of the fully open state. In this example embodiment, the information provided in the first and/or second mapping tables (in the control portion 1 1 0) may directly identify one or more reservoirs of the scent diffuser device 1 20, 220, 320 to be applied in the scent emission and the first and/or second table(s) may further indicate the associated scaling factors . Alternatively, one or more further mapping tables may be employed to provide mapping(s) between the scent composition(s) defined in the first and/or second mapping tables, the corresponding one or more reservoirs of the scent diffuser device 1 20, 220, 320, and the associated scaling factors .

The scent control signal S may be arranged to cause the scent diffuser device 120, 220, 320 to emit the selected scent composition for an emission period having a duration T. The duration T may be a predefined duration stored in a memory accessible by the scent diffuser device 120, 220, 320 or the duration T may be a predefined duration stored in a memory accessible by the control portion 1 10 (e.g. as part of the first and/or second mapping table) and provided from the control portion 1 10 to the scent diffuser device 120, 220, 320 as a scent control parameter in the scent control signal Sy. The duration T rnay be, for example, in a range from a few seconds to a few minutes. Such an emission period may be provided once. Alternatively, the emission period may be provided two or several times according to a predefined pattern, e.g. at predefined time intervals, to provide a sequence of emission periods. The number of emission periods to apply may be a predefined number stored in a memory accessible by the scent diffuser device 120, 220, 320 or the number of emission periods may be a predefined number stored in a memory accessible by the control portion 1 10 (e.g. as part of the first and/or second mapping table) and provided from the control portion 1 10 to the scent diffuser device 120, 220, 320 as a scent control parameter in the scent control signal Sy

Alternatively or additionally, reception of the scent control signal Sy may be arranged to cause the control means 229, 329 to control the scent diffuser device 120, 220, 320 to emit the desired scent composition in amount that changes over time according to a predefined profile, e.g. such that each emis- sion period invoked by the scent control signal Sy employs the same predefined profile or such that the profile is varied from emission period to another. As an example, the predefined profile may define that during the duration 7^~ of the emission period the amount of scent composition or scent component emitted from the respective reservoir 221 , 321 decreases from a high amount to a low amount or increased from the low amount to the high amount), e.g. changes from 100% to 0 (or vice versa) or from the amount indicated by the respective scaling factor r or to 0 (or vice versa). The decrease or increase may be linear, or it may follow a desired curve. The change in the amount of scent composition/component emission may be provided for example by the control means 229, 329 causing to change the extent to which the respective control valve is open over time accordingly. The profile may be a predefined profile stored in a memory accessible by the scent diffuser device 120, 220, 320 or the profile may be a predefined profile stored in a memory accessible by the control portion 1 1 0 (e.g. as part of the first and/or second mapping table) and provided from the control portion 1 1 0 to the scent diffuser device 1 20, 220, 320 as a scent control parameter in the scent control signal Sy_. In this regard, the scent diffuser device 1 20, 220, 320 may store a number of different profiles and the respective scent control parameter the scent control signal Sy may identify the applied profile among the stored profiles.

The scent control signal Sy may be provided as trigger signal (or as a command) that may be relatively short in duration, reception of which triggers the single emission period or the sequence of emission periods from the scent diffuser device 1 20. Alternatively, the scent control signal Sy may be provided as a state control signal that causes the scent diffuser device 1 20 to continue providing the single emission period or the sequence of emission periods as long as the scent control signal is being received at the scent diffuser device 120.

The control means 229, 329 may be arranged to apply a waiting period 7_W after initiation of an emission period or after initiation of a sequence of emission periods, during which the further scent control signals Sy from the control portion 1 10 are ignored in order to avoid causing simultaneous emission of multi- pie scent compositions. The waiting period 7_W may be equal or substantially equal to the duration of the emission period or the duration of the sequence of emission periods. Alternatively, the waiting period 7_W may be longer than the duration of the emission period or the duration of the sequence of emission periods by a predefined margin 7_m. The time margin 7_m may be have a fixed pre- defined duration (e.g. 1 5 to 30 seconds) or the time margin 7_m may be a fixed predefined percentage of the duration of the emission period or the duration of the sequence of emission periods (e.g. 25 to 50 %). Alternatively, the control portion 1 1 0 may be arranged to apply the waiting period 7_W instead of the control means 229, 329, the control portion 1 1 0 thereby According to another example embodiment, the scent diffuser device 1 20, 220, 320 may comprise a further reservoir connected via a further tubing arrange- ment to the vaporizer elements 225, 325, provided with a respective further air flow element. In this regard, the control means 229, 329 may be arranged to cause activation of the air further air flow element and to open the control valves of the further reservoirs 221 in response to a cleaning control com- mand. At the same time, the control valves of the other reservoirs 221 , 321 are kept closed. Such cleaning control command may be invoked e.g. via user input received via a user interface of the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300.

In the foregoing, various example of structure and operation of the scent emis- sion arrangements 1 00, 200 and 300 have been described. According to a further example embodiment, the operation of the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 or any corresponding arrangement or device may be described as steps of a method. As an example in this regard, Figure 7 depicts a flowchart illustrating an exemplifying method 500 for carrying out operations, procedures, functions and/or methods described in context of the components of the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 and/or the components of the ambience control arrangement 400.

The method 500 serves as a method for controlling an emission of a scent composition in a physical space. The method 500 comprises receiving the first control signal Si that is indicative of an audio signal selected for reproduction in said physical space, as indicated in block 51 0. The method 500 further comprises receiving the second control signal S₂ that is indicative of visible light selected for illumination of said physical space, as indicated in block 520. Although depicted with both block 51 0 and block 520, a variation of the method 500 includes only one of the blocks 51 0 and 520. The method 500 further comprises controlling a scent diffuser device 1 20, 220, 320 arranged in said physical space to selectively emit a scent composition in dependence of said first control signal Si and said second control signal S₂, as indicated in block 530. Although the block 530 indicates selective emission of the scent composi- tion in dependence of both the first control signal Si and the second control signal S₂, the selective emission of the scent composition may alternatively depend only on one of the first signal Si and the second control signal S₂. The method 500 may be (further) varied in a number of ways, for example in a manner described in the foregoing in context of the scent emission arrangements 1 00, 200 and 300 and/or in context of the ambience control arrange- ment 400.

Figure 8 schematically illustrates an exemplifying apparatus 800 upon which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented. The apparatus 800 as illustrated in Figure 8 provides a diagram of exemplary components of an apparatus, which is capable of operating as or providing at least some of the func- tions of one or more of the control portion 1 10, the audio analysis portion 1 30 and the light analysis portion 140 of the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300.

The apparatus 600 comprises a processor 61 0 and a memory 620. The apparatus 600 may be referred to as a computing apparatus. The processor 61 0 is configured to read from and write to the memory 620. The apparatus 600 may further comprise a communication interface 630 that enables the wireless or wired communication between other components of the scent emission arrangement 1 00, 200, 300 and/or other devices. The apparatus 600 may further comprise a user interface 640 for providing data, commands and/or other input to the processor 61 0 and/or for receiving data or other output from the processor 61 0, the user interface 640 comprising for example one or more of a display, a keyboard or keys, a mouse or a respective pointing device, a touchscreen, a touchpad, etc. The apparatus 600 may comprise further components not illustrated in the example of Figure 8. Although the processor 61 0 is presented in the example of Figure 8 as a single component, the processor 61 0 may be implemented as one or more separate components. Although the memory 620 in the example of Figure 8 is illustrated as a single component, the memory 620 may be implemented as one or more separate components, some or all of which may be integrated/removable and/or may provide permanent / semi-permanent/ dynamic / cached storage. The apparatus 600 may be embodied, for example, as an electronic device equipped with processing capacity sufficient to carry out operations, procedures and/or functions described in context of the scent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300. As an example, such electronic device may be a computer ap- paratus, which may be a personal computer such as a laptop computer or a desktop computer or it may be a mainframe computer. Moreover, provided that a sufficient processing capacity is available, the apparatus 600 may be embodied e.g. as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a digital camera, a digital video camera, a music player, a media player, a gaming device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, etc.

The memory 620 may store a computer program 650 comprising computer- executable instructions that control the operation of the apparatus 600 when loaded into the processor 610. As an example, the computer program 650 may include one or more sequences of one or more instructions. The computer program 650 may be provided as a computer program code. The processor 610 is able to load and execute the computer program 650 by reading the one or more sequences of one or more instructions included therein from the memory 620. The one or more sequences of one or more instructions may be configured to, when executed by one or more processors, cause an apparatus, for example the apparatus 600, to carry out operations, procedures and/or functions described hereinbefore in context of the scent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300 or one or more of its components. In other words, the computer readable program code of the computer program 650 is arranged to cause carrying out operations, procedures and/or functions described hereinbefore in context of the scent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300 or one or more of its components when the program code is run on the apparatus 600.

Hence, the apparatus 600 may comprise at least one processor 610 and at least one memory 620 including computer program code for one or more computer programs 650, the at least one memory 620 and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor 610, cause the apparatus 600 to perform operations, procedures and/or functions described hereinbefore in context of the scent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300 or one or more of its components.

The computer program 650 may be provided at the apparatus 600 via any suitable delivery mechanism. As an example, the delivery mechanism may comprise at least one computer readable non-transitory medium having program code stored thereon, the program code which when executed by an apparatus cause the apparatus at least to carry out operations, procedures and/or functions described hereinbefore in context of the scent emission arrangement 100, 200, 300 or one or more of its components. The delivery mechanism may be for example a computer readable storage medium, a computer program product, a memory device a record medium such as a CD- ROM, a DVD, a Blue-Ray disc or another article of manufacture that tangibly embodies the computer program 650. As a further example, the delivery mechanism may be a signal configured to reliably transfer the computer pro- gram 650.

Reference to a processor should not be understood to encompass only programmable processors, but also dedicated circuits such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), application specific circuits (ASIC), signal processors, etc.

Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described. Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performa- ble by other features whether described or not. Although features have been described with reference to certain embodiments, those features may also be present in other embodiments whether described or not.

Claims

1 . A scent control arrangement for controlling an emission of scent composition in a physical space, the arrangement comprising control portion arranged to receive at least one of a first control signal and a second control signal, wherein said first control signal is indicative of an audio signal selected for reproduction in said physical space, and said second control signal is indicative of visible light selected for il- lumination of said physical space, and control a scent diffuser device arranged in said physical space to selectively emit a scent composition in dependence of at least one of said first control signal and said second control signal.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein said first control signal is indicative of a value of at least one characteristic of said audio signal.

3. An arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said at least one characteristic of the audio signal comprises one or more of the following: a frequency fingerprint included in said audio signal and the key of said audio signal. 4. An arrangement according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising an audio analysis portion arranged to capture said audio signal, analyze the captured audio signal to extract said value of at least one characteristic of the audio signal, and cause said first control signal to indicate said extracted at least one characteristic of the captured audio signal. An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein said second control signal is indicative of at least one characteristic of said visible light.

An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein said at least one characteristic of the visible light comprises the wavelength of said visible light.

An arrangement according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising a light analysis portion arranged to analyze ambient light to extract said at least one characteristic of said visible light, and compose said second control signal to indicate said extracted at least one characteristic of the ambient light.

An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein said controlling comprises controlling the scent diffuser device to emit one of a plurality of predetermined scent compositions in dependence of at least one of said first and second control signals.

An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein said control portion is arranged to control the scent diffuser device to substantially simultaneously emit two or more predetermined scent components in dependence of at least one of said first and second control signals to provide said scent composition.

An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein said control portion is arranged to derive values for one or more control parameters in dependence of at least one of said first and second control signals and to control the scent diffuser device by issuing, to the scent diffuser device, a control signal that carries the derived values of said one or more control parameters.

1 1 . An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein said control portion is arranged to control the scent diffuser device to emit the selected scent composition for a predefined period of time.

12. An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 1 1 , wherein said control portion is arranged to control the scent diffuser device to emit the selected scent in amount that changes over time according to a predefined profile.

13. An ambience control arrangement comprising a scent control arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 12 and at least one of the following: an audio reproduction system for provision of said audio signal in said physical space, and a lighting arrangement for illuminating said physical space.

14. A method for controlling an emission of a scent composition in a physical space, the method comprising receiving at least one of a first control signal and a second control signal, wherein said first control signal is indicative of an audio signal selected for reproduction in said physical space, and said second control signal is indicative of visible light selected for il- lumination of said physical space, and controlling a scent diffuser device arranged in said physical space to selectively emit a scent composition in dependence of at least one of said first control signal and said second control signal.

15. A computer program comprising computer readable program code configured to cause performing of the method of claim 14 when said program code is run on a computing apparatus